Back in the day, snake oil salesmen used to park their carts in town centers to hawk their wares. “Dr. Callahan’s patented theirac is good for whatever ails you,” they would sing out above the dust. “From the gripe to ague, black dog to breakbone, this radium-fortified breakthrough panacea is the anodyne answer to all your prayers!”
The snake oil of that bygone era has evolved into today’s health food, and the internet has become the slicksters’ new soap box. But not all health food companies make wild promises and deliver things which could charitably be compared to compressed wood shavings. Step One Foods, which has just moved their headquarters to Eden Prairie, offers real foods made with healthful ingredients that demonstrably reduce bad cholesterol.
“Step One Foods is the brainchild of Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology who trained at the Mayo Clinic,” said Bill Alldredge, chief financial officer for Step One Foods. “Dr. Klodas treats many patients for high cholesterol and heart disease – two conditions which are nearly entirely preventable with the right lifestyle changes.
“Many of Dr. Klodas’ patients believed they had to become yoga-practicing vegan triathletes to enjoy healthier lives. She set out to fix that misconception by proving that even a few, small changes to your diet add up to make a big difference.
“Dr. Klodas used her medical background to create the ideal heart-healthy foods; precisely formulated to meet every nutritional benchmark to help lower bad cholesterol levels. Not content to take anything less than a scientific approach, she tested her foods according to a rigorous clinical trial.
“The results were astounding. Participants who substituted just two of Dr. Klodas’ prepared foods for anything else they would have eaten during a typical day showed a nine percent average reduction in bad cholesterol in only one month. For some of the participants, that reduction fell between 20 to 30 percent – which are benefits comparable to those of many prescription medications.
“When we announced the results of that clinical trial in 2018, our business exploded. We have grown 300 percent every year since, and now ship Step One Foods all across the country to people who value real, scientifically proven results from their health foods.
“We’re changing another big preconception about living a healthy lifestyle, because Step One Foods’ products also happen to be delicious. Our foods are exclusively made with real ingredients like European-style chocolate, Madagascar vanilla beans, freeze-dried berries, almonds, pecans and walnuts, and chia and flax seeds. You’ll want to eat these foods every day, and in doing so you’re guaranteed to get the whole food fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and plant sterols which are all so essential to a healthy heart.
“All of our foods are easy to enjoy. Our blueberry oatmeal, strawberry banana smoothie, and walnut pancake mixes take only seconds to prepare. We also have five flavors of snack bars (including the all-time favorite dark chocolate crunch), as well as Anytime Sprinkle which tastes just as good in a bowl of fruit yogurt as it does on top of a salad.
“We’re thrilled to have settled in our new home in Eden Prairie. It’s a beautiful space in a beautiful town, where we’re proud to welcome our customers who would rather pick up their foods in person than wait for them to arrive in the mail. This is the perfect spot to continue our mission of changing people’s lives.
“There are currently 70 million Americans who are candidates for taking cholesterol medications. If we can help just a fraction of them, we’ll know we’ve done good.”
Step One Foods is located at 7625 Golden Triangle Dr Suite E in Eden Prairie. You may learn more about their foods, order them online, or arrange to pick them up in person by visiting steponefoods.com.
